Tribe’s Casino Site: The Burial Ground of Its Ancestors

For generations, American Indians have been dogged by poverty, their traditions weakened from within and without. But few things have encapsulated their plight as neatly as this: a proposal by a tribe to build a casino on an Indian burial ground.

“The tribe is small and needs money to survive. An economic development project like this will give us the money to be self-sufficient,” said Leaford Bearskin, chief of the 3,800-member Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma.

Other Indians are shocked by the idea of building on what they regard as sacred ground.

“That they would think so little of their ancestors and elders and heritage to propose doing this, it’s really abominable,” said Fran Davidson, who often brings nuts and berries to the spirits of her 32 ancestors buried at the cemetery. “Imagine our relatives lying here, looking up at the floor of a casino.”

The two-acre spot, bordered by busy streets and just blocks from downtown Kansas City, is the spiritual center of the Wyandottes’ cousins, the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, who have buried their own there since 1843. The Wyandottes, however, are recognized by the U.S. government as a tribe, and thus have control over the cemetery.

If the Wyandottes get their way, workers could be driving pillars into the cemetery sometime next year, in preparation for a $4-million to $5-million casino and bingo hall.

For years, Indian tribes around the country have fought against encroachment on their lands, going to court to keep scientists from studying burial sites and ancient dwellings and laying claim to property they say was taken from them.

In this case, though, “this is not some multimillion, nonnative conglomerate saying, ‘Hey, have we got a deal for you,’ ” said Dan Wildcat, a professor of American Indian studies at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence. “This is a native people proposing to do this. It flies in the face of our beliefs, values and customs.”

The state, city, and four other Kansas tribes have gone to court, asking for restraining orders to block the project. Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) introduced an amendment to ensure that the cemetery is used as burial ground only.

The Wyandotte, Okla.-based Indians, who have been trying to build a casino in Kansas for nine years, have said the cemetery is not their first choice, but since the state has not approved any other sites for them, they have to proceed.

Bearskin insisted the tribe’s plans won’t desecrate any graves. He pointed to other tribes that have prospered from operating casinos--although not at cemeteries--at a time when federal funding for Indians has been cut.

“They provide services we all need, like hospitals, roads, schools,” he said.

The Wyandottes depend mostly on government assistance to operate their medical clinic and preschool and repair their homes. Figures on unemployment, welfare recipients or income were unavailable.

The Kansas Wyandots and the Oklahoma Wyandottes split from each other in 1855. The Wyanots are not a federally recognized tribe because they were given U.S. citizenship in exchange for land.

For the last two years, the Wyandottes have been negotiating with Kansas to build a casino at the Woodlands, a racetrack that is in bankruptcy court. But the Legislature and Gov. Bill Graves have been reluctant to expand gambling in the state and have not supported the Wyandottes.

“We’re being portrayed as this group that suddenly wants to desecrate the cemetery. That’s not true,” Wyandotte attorney David McCullogh said. “Because of opposition to the other sites, we’re in a position of doing something that we’ve been trying to avoid for nine years.”